If you feel stressed at school, what can you do to make yourself happier? Some may eat their favorite food or listen to some music. Others may go for a walk or get some exercise. A new study found another great way to lower students’ stress—playing with dogs.
Scientists studied 105 students between the ages of eight and nine. Thirty-five trained dogs and their trainers also took part in the test. The children were divided into 3 groups. The students in the first group spent 20 minutes with a dog and its trainer. They watched the trained dogs perform and even played with them. They did this twice a week for 4 weeks. The second group spent the same amount of time (时长) doing exercise to relax. The last group did neither of these things.
During this time, the scientists recorded the students’ cortisol levels (皮质醇水平). Cortisol is a stress hormone (激素). The more stressed you feel, the more cortisol you will have in your body. What did the scientists find? Both the second and the third groups showed rises in cortisol levels. The first group, however, showed no big increase. And the children in this group had the lowest cortisol levels right after playing with the dogs.
According to the study, students enjoy playing with dogs, and it helps them become happier. The stress hormone falls over time this way, which is good for students’ health. But here comes the next question: Is 20 minutes of playtime with a dog the best amount of time? Scientists are going to keep working to find out the answer.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To lead in the topic. | B．To present the argument. |
| C．To shock the readers. | D．To show the latest research results. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．The time. | B．The age. | C．The activity. | D．The place. |
| A．More useful ways to lower stress. |
| B．New skills of keeping pets at home. |
| C．The best amount of time to play with a dog. |
| D．The most suitable kind of dog to play with. |
相似题推荐
There are certain sports that are played individually (各自地). They help you build confidence and the spirit to win, and teach you how to “face” victory. But, most of the time, team sports stand above them. They not only train you in body, but also in emotion, social communication and morality (道德). The word ‘‘team” has a deep meaning.
They keep your body in shape and save you from problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease and weak bones.
Team sports help people to develop the ability to listen to each other.
As Henry Ford once said, “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself!”
| A．Team sports help a man to become social. |
| B．Women should especially take an active part in team sports. |
| C．From playing team sports, students can learn what teamwork is. |
| D．In a team sport, two or more players work together towards one purpose. |
| E．Everyone must agree with the fact that speech is silver, but silence is golden! |
| F．It doesn’t simply mean a collection of players, but a group of different minds and values. |
【推荐2】A day at the shops can help you live longer, and surprisingly, the benefits are actually greater for men, says a study group from Taiwan. The study even suggests that shopping regularly is better than going to the gym. Seeing friends and just people-watching can stave off loneliness and improve psychological health, suggests the study. It looked at almost 1850 people aged 65 and over living alone at home in Taiwan, who were asked how often they went shopping. They found those who shopped daily lived longer than those who shopped less, with thinking of people’s physical or other health problems. By comparing with those who didn’t often go out to the shops had the best life record, with a 28% cut in their chances of dying, while older women saw a bit fewer benefits with a 23% cut in dying. The researchers said, “An elder who shops less for food would be at risk of poorer diet to keep healthy. This makes a bad cycle. Shopping less causes poor health and poor health causes less shopping. ” But the study added, “In shopping situations, communicating with, or watching others can provide social and mental benefits. ” “Compared with other types of spare-time physical activity, like exercise, which usually needs motivation and sometimes professional instruction, shopping is easier to keep on.”
1. The study suggests that ________ is better than going to the gym.| A．watching people | B．seeing friends | C．shopping regularly | D．living alone |
| A．shopped daily | B．never shopped | C．shopped less | D．shopped with friends |
| A．turn off | B．cut off | C．take off | D．keep off |
| A．provide social benefits | B．be at a risk of poorer diet |
| C．have physical problems | D．feel even lonelier |
| A．The benefits of shopping regularly are greater for men. |
| B．The study interviewed almost 1850 people aged 65 and over living with their families. |
| C．Older men who often went shopping would have 28% cut in their chances of dying. |
| D．Shopping less causes poor health and poor health causes less shopping. |
| A．some physical activities are easier to keep on | B．old people don’t have motivation to exercise |
| C．you need some professional instruction to shop | D．it is not easy to exercise regularly |
Self-test of your sleep quality (质量) Try to answer these questions with A, B, C or D. A. Often. B. Sometimes. C. Hardly ever. D. Never. Questions: 1. I stay up late to study or play. 2. I have a hard time falling asleep (入睡). 3. I can’t go to bed on time. 4. I wake up easily. 5. I have a lot of dreams, so I often feel ▲ in the morning. 6. I wake up too early, and I can’t fall asleep again. 7. I can’t sleep because of small problems I had during the day. 8. I can’t fall asleep in a new place. 9. I have little sleep when I’m on night shift (夜班). 10. I sometimes have sleeping pills (药片). Points: A=5, B=2, C=1, D=0 If you get more than 20 points, you have a big sleep problem. If you get between 5 and 20, your sleep is not so good. If you get less than 5 points, you have good sleep quality. |
| A．she often stays up late | B．she usually goes to bed early |
| C．she sometimes studies till midnight | D．she wakes up early in the morning |
| A．tired | B．excited | C．bored | D．wonderful |
| A．3 | B．6 | C．9 | D．13 |
| A．he has a big sleep problem | B．his sleep is not so good |
| C．he can sleep well all night | D．he is a healthy boy |
| A．why sleep is important | B．how to sleep well at night |
| C．if we sleep well | D．when we should go to sleep |
The Spring Festival is celebrated not only in China but also in other parts of the world. The traditional holiday is the most important to Chinese both at home and abroad.
The United Kingdom
Celebrations for the Spring Festival in the UK started in 1980, with the first evening party held in 2002. Every New Year, people get together and have a lot of activities. They sing songs, dance to music, share photos with friends or enjoy films in a cinema.
The United States
The Spring Festival has become a key time for Chinese living or working in the US. They join in a large evening party to welcome the traditional New Year. It is a good chance for people to build a circle of friends and feel that they are not alone because they share the same culture and values.
Australia
The Chinese New Year will be welcomed with three weeks of celebrations across Australia. Many people come to Sydney’s Chinatown or Lite Bourke Street in Melbourne. They enjoy fireworks (烟花), lion dances and dragon boat races. The celebrations are also a bridge towards better understanding between Chinese and non-Chinese.
Singapore
The family dinner on New Year’s Eve is an important tradition for Chinese whether they were born in Singapore or moved there from China. They place traditional food on a table as an act of remembering their past. Then the whole family enjoy the dinner together. They usually hold it at home because having it in a restaurant takes away the meaning of the tradition.
1. When did celebrations for the Spring Festival in the UK start?| A．In 1890. | B．In 1980. | C．In 2000. |
| A．know more about Americans |
| B．share different cultures and values |
| C．say hello to the traditional New Year |
| A．fireworks and Beijing Opera |
| B．lion dances and Beijing Opera |
| C．lion dances and dragon boat races |
| A．Because they want to keep Chinese tradition. |
| B．Because the food in restaurants is expensive. |
| C．Because the food in restaurants is not delicious. |
| A．All parts of the world celebrate the Spring Festival. |
| B．Chinese across the world have a strong feeling towards the Spring Festival. |
| C．Celebrations for the Spring Festival last a few days in foreign countries. |
【推荐2】People often think of the North Pole (北极) and the South Pole as similar frozen (冰冻的) wastelands. They are both places with very cold temperatures and few people live there. However, the North and South Poles are not much alike as people may imagine.
The North Pole has no land, only thick ice. Temperatures seldom go above 32°F, at which water turns into ice. Most of the time, it stays below zero. In winter temperatures are usually as low as -30°F.
▲ , people tried for many centuries to reach the North Pole. About 100 years ago, two men, Robert Peary and Mathew Henson, were able to get to this environment full of troubles and difficulties. They reached the North Pole on March 8th,1909. It was really a hard trip for them.
There are few things more dangerous than crossing the Arctic (北极圈) on foot. People who stayed there may face many problems: very cold temperatures, sudden storms, and even hunger. Most of the area is uninhabited. Few people can live in such a difficult place.
People might think that with such low temperatures for most of the year,the ice would be thick and hard. However, this is not true in the Arctic. The movement of the ocean water under the ice may often cause many different changes on the surface. Sometimes the ice breaks into two opening lanes of water (水道) called “leads”. Anyone who falls into a lead can be frozen to death in a few minutes.
1. Which of the following can be put in the “ ▲ ”?| A．When it was really cold | B．Although conditions were very poor |
| C．Because it was not difficult | D．Because it was an exciting trip |
| A．Two men succeeded in getting to the North Pole. |
| B．Temperatures in the North Pole went above 32°F. |
| C．The environment in the North Pole suddenly became worse. |
| D．The North Pole changed into thick ice because of the temperatures. |
| A．气候恶劣的 | B．充满危险的 | C．困难重重的 | D．无人居住的 |
| A．that the temperature suddenly drops | B．that the water under the ice is frozen |
| C．that the ocean water under the ice moves | D．that the surface is covered with lots of ice |
| A．The thick ice in the North Pole. | B．A difficult trip to the North Pole. |
| C．The real situation in the North Pole. | D．The differences between the North Pole and the South Pole. |
【推荐3】①Morning or night? Which time of day do you enjoy the most and have the most energy? Whichever one you prefer, there is a name for you.
②Early birds or morning larks (云雀), as you can guess, are morning people. They are more active in the morning and are happy to greet the day. Because they rise early, they lose energy in the late afternoon. Therefore, morning larks are likely to sleep early. As most of society runs in the daytime, morning larks are seen as hard-working people. As the saying goes: “
③Night owls (猫头鹰) are the opposite of morning larks. These people have the least energy in the morning. They would rather get a few more hours of sleep than rise with the sun. But actually, night owls get more active in the late evening hours. They become creative and come up with good ideas easily in the moonlight. It’s no surprise that they can stay up well into the night.
④For some night owls, they wish to rise earlier. If you are one of them, here are suggestions to help you catch that worm (虫子).
⑤First, start with a 15-minute change. You can go to bed 15 minutes earlier than usual and wake up that much earlier as well. Keep the way going until you find yourself rising with the sun.
⑥Second, keep rising early every day. To make the change from owl to lark, you need to make it a habit to get up early. Don’t work hard to rise early during the week only to sleep late on weekends. Set a time to wake up, and do it every day.
⑦All birds are created equal, and we can’t tell which kind of bird is good. It’s up to you to work in the early morning or late at night. The most important thing is to keep on your living habit and make your life best.
1. Compare with “early larks”, “night owls” are ________ in the morning.| A．likely to get up early |
| B．happy and full of energy |
| C．creative and can easily get good ideas |
| D．more active at night but less creative |
| A．A bird is known by its note |
| B．Kill two birds with one stone |
| C．The early bird catches the worm |
| D．Each bird loves to hear himself sing |
| A．①/②③/④⑤⑥⑦ | B．①②③/④/⑤⑥⑦ |
| C．①②③/④⑤⑥/⑦ | D．①②/③④⑤⑥/⑦ |
| A．“Early larks” are more welcomed than “night owls”. |
| B．“Early larks” are more hard-working than “night owls”. |
| C．You’d better change your lifestyle if you are “night owls”. |
| D．The living habit that fits you is the best no matter which you are. |
